" Hero ... "

There's a hero

If you look inside your heart

You don't have to be afraid

Of what you are

There's an answer

If you reach into your soul

And the sorrow that you know

Will melt away

And then a hero comes along

With the strength to carry on

And you cast your fears aside

And you know you can survive

So when you feel like hope is gone

Look inside you and be strong

And you'll finally see the truth

That a hero lies in you

~ Mariah Carey ~ Hero ~

***

I have realized that you have to be your own hero ... always.  You can have tremendous love and support around you but the hero lies in you.  You have to decide what is right for you, you have to chose your path, and then you have to manage the consequences.  We spend a lot of time blaming others ... our parents, our bosses, our colleagues, our enemies and sometimes our friends ... but ultimate we are responsible for everything that happens to us.  So during times when we feel that things are out of our control, there are still somethings we can control ... one being how we feed our bodies.

Now I have blogged various natural supplements and foods, but I cannot stress enough the importance of eating good wholesome ORGANIC foods.  You may be thinking ... *sigh, here we go again ... well I ask you stay with me on this.  

You see recently I have been reading more and more information regarding what is called the Dirty Dozen ... still interested?

There is a saying ... it’s time to put the “farm” back into pharmacy.  Way back when, people used to make tinctures and potions and heal their aches and pains with nature.  Now we are given synthetic drugs to deal with the symptoms ... but what about the cause of the ailment, where does it come from, and how do we treat it so it never comes back?

We can start with what we eat.  Yup, pretty simple.  What we eat DIRECTLY affects our bodies ... how scars heal, how our organs function and even our moods.  Our bodies are always trying to bring balance and harmony back.  And yes nutrition can and does work, but it is not what you eat it is what you absorb.  

Nature has a bounty of remedies for our body’s needs ... as long as it is not contaminated.  

Which leads me to the Dirty Dozen (DD) ... what is it?  Well the DD are foods that tend to be heavily sprayed with synthetic pesticides.  Now this list gets updated and can be found at the Environmental Working Group 2012 Shoppers Guide ~ Pesticides to Produce.  The most polluted produce is:

• Apples
• Celery
• Strawberries
• Peaches
• Spinach
• Imported Nectarines
• Imported Grapes
• Sweet Bell Peppers
• Potatoes
• Domestic Blueberries
• Lettuce
• Kale and Collard Greens

And believe it or not, there is a super dirty list which includes Green Beans!  Eating the above foods in ORGANIC form means you avoid the pesticide residue left on them.  Now organic food does cost more and that is a deterrent for many people, but ever think about how costly it would be if you got sick instead?  Trust me, I know.

Studies have shown that individuals can reduce their exposure by 80% if they switch to organic when buying these 12 foods.  How?  Well, for example when tested, 98% of conventional apples have pesticides, 57 different pesticides were found in celery and 15 different pesticides were found in bell peppers!

So what is the problem with pesticides?  

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:

“Laboratory studies show that pesticides can cause health problems, such as birth defects, nerve damage, cancer, and other effects that might occur over a long period of time ... Some pesticides also pose unique health risks to children.”

Sadly, there is an argument out there stating that all the scare of pesticides does us harm as people will avoid fruits and vegetables.  Yet I believe we are smart enough to know that health problems start with eating a bad diet.  Therefore it is up to you to risk what you allow your body to absorb.